


Carrotcake

by NataliePhoenix



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Easter, Fluff, M/M, big bang challenge: lightning round, carrot cake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-12
Updated: 2013-03-12
Packaged: 2017-12-05 03:36:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/718431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NataliePhoenix/pseuds/NataliePhoenix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Easter is arriving, just like every other year, and Jack decides that baking a carrotcake would be a a suitable way to celebrate the holiday. And perhaps this holiday is the perfect time for Jack to reveal something to Bunnymund, that's very close to his heart...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Carrotcake

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> This is a piece for the lightning round of the big bang that's taking place for this fandom. This is also for the request of several anons and Thisby.

From the windowsill of Jamie’s room, Jack could watch him lie on his bed, a book outstretched in front of him, as he paged through the contents. For a moment, Jack just sat there and watched Jamie read his book peacefully. Gently, he knocked on the window pain, causing his head to lift from the folds of the book and glance over at him. Immediately his face lit up with joy, and he scooted off of his bed towards him.  


“Jack!” he cried out in greeting, a large grin on his face. He pulled the window open, which caused me to topple inside.  
“Hey Jamie,” Jack greeted affectionately, ruffling the kid’s hair once he was back on my feet.  


“What are you doing here?” he asked, jumping about on his bed with the excitement, his blue eyes sparkling. “It’s like, almost spring!”  


“Well, I’m trying to make a cake, to be perfectly honest,” Jack said, smirking at himself. “For Bunny, that is. It’s Easter in a few days and I wanted to surprise him.”  


“You mean sort of like a birthday cake?” Jamie questioned, sharing a wide smile at this idea.  


“Yeah,” Jack answered, nodding “The only problem is that I don’t know how.”  


“I don’t really either,” Jamie shrugged, his smile sliding slightly so that only half of his mouth was still curved into the grin. “My mom might though... Hang on!” With those words he ran to the hallway, nearly banging into the wall as he skittered away.  


Jack followed, jumping after Jamie. He pursued the little boy down the hall, and into a warmly lit kitchen where his mother was sitting at a small table.  


“Hey, honey,” she greeted tiredly, ruffling Jamie’s hair.  


“Hi mom,” Jamie said, jumping up and down and pulling on her hand. “Can we make a birthday cake for the Easter Bunny?”  
“I don’t think we’ve got the time right now, Jamie,” his mother responded, smiling slightly. “I’m sorry.”  


“Aw, okay,” Jamie sighed, his shoulders slumping as he turned back to Jack. “Sorry Jack, maybe another time?”  


“Yeah, thanks for trying,” Jack smiled, shrugging his own shoulders good-naturedly. “I’ve got to go ask Tooth then. See you around?”  


“Okay,” Jamie nodded seriously. “Say hi to her for me!”  


“Will do,” Jack promised, before flying off on his way.  


* * *  


Tooth’s domain always appeared as a floating flower, from a distance, or sometimes as delicate rays of light, beaming from the sun and brightening the world, the buzzing colony of fairies always zooming about. Back before Jack was a guardian, he was always too overwhelmed by her palace, so that he hadn’t dared come close. Now was different, and as Jack asked the wind to drop him off at her doorstep, he was comforted by the gentle hum of activity that filled the air.  


“Jack!” Tooth squealed, flying down with her usual startling amount of energy. Her wings vibrated behind her, and she came down at such surprising speed that she almost knocked Jack off his feet as she squeezed him into a hug. “It’s so great to see you! How have you been?”  


“Great, I’ve been great. More and more children have been believing in me,” Jack laughed, hugging her back. “How have you been?”  


“Just lovely,” Tooth grinned, pulling away. “It’s so great to have all the fairies back, thanks for helping.”  


“It was my pleasure,” Jack assured her, smiling as well.  


“Is there anything I can help you with?”  


“Yes, actually,” Jack started, leaning against his staff. “Easter’s coming up and I was hoping to make Bunnymund a cake--sort of like a human’s birthday celebration.”  


“Aw, that’s a great idea,” Tooth started, landing on the ground next to Jack for a moment. “Unfortunately I’ve never really had the time to learn how to bake, never really been in my interest--they create cavities. But I know North is very good at making sweets. Fly over to the north pole, and I’m sure he could help you cook something up.”  


“Okay, thanks, Tooth,” Jack replied, standing back up in preparation for his leave. “Would it be alright if I stopped by more often? There’s always less to do in the summer.”  


“Of course, you just can’t expect that I won’t be busy,” Tooth laughed, waving her hand. “Goodbye Jack! Say hello to North and Bunny for me!”  


“Will do!” Jack promised.  


“Also, don’t forget to tell Bunny to floss afterwards!” Tooth called out, as he sprung into the air.  


“Good idea,” Jack laughed, glancing behind himself, before flying off into the wind. “I doubt that’s something kangaroos bother to do!”  


North and Tooth really did live too far away from each other; if Jack hadn’t been able to ask the wind to carry him, he probably wouldn’t be able to travel the distance at all. As it was, the world whistled below him, a dazzling decadence of melting snow and newborn life. But as Jack continued flying farther north, the slush diminished, and soon the ground was filled with Jack’s familiar, white, trademark work. Before he could count to twenty, he was landing at the doorstep of North’s workshop. Jack reached forward and brought the large brass knocker down, but before he could even step back, a yeti opened the large doors. It nodded in greeting, stepping back to allow the guardian inside the doors. Without question, this yeti brought Jack through the maze of tinkered amazement, and to North’s office.  


“Am I interrupting something?” Jack questioned, unwilling to intrude, half way through the door.  


“Jack!” North beamed, standing to embrace him in a large, rib-crushing hug. “Good to see you! No no, no intrusion at all!”  


Grinning, Jack entered the office, his eyes flitting between the many different toys that cluttered the room.  


“How have you been, Jack?”  


“Great, just great,” Jack grinned, leaning up against the chair that North sat back down in. “I still haven’t gotten use to be being believed in!”  


“You will soon,” North chuckled. “I’m glad you stop by. Stay for dinner!”  


“That would be great,” Jack agreed joyously, positioning himself on the arm of North’s chair. “I actually came here on a mission.”  


“I knew you were here for a reason, I could feel it, in my belly!” North chuckled, a grin across his jolly face as he patted said belly. “What can we do for you, Jack?”  


“Well, I’m trying to make Bunnymund a cake for Easter,” Jack explained, leaning back on the armchair, completely relaxed. This, this was home. “But the problem is that I’ve never made any sort of sweet. I had been hoping Tooth could teach me, but that’s not really her area. She said you could help me.”  


North winked at Jack, nodding happily. “Yes, I can help with your Bunny cake,” North agreed heartily, standing up from his seat.  


“We make the best cake guardian has ever tasted,” North assured Jack, striding out of the room, his two companions on his tale. “Carrot cake is Bunnymund’s favorite. Ingredients easy. Sugar, oil, eggs, salt, vanilla, walnuts--and carrots, of course. Cupcakes will work best, more portable. Yeti, come, we’re making Bunny cake.” Followed by a yeti that Jack knew as Phil, the threesome made their way through the havoc of the workshop, down to an equally messy kitchen. There were about four different yetis working across the red counters that lined the walls, their large forms hiding their food from view.  


“Ah red, what a surprise,” Jack murmured snidely, as they entered the room. “I hope it’s not to cover up the blood.”  


“Don’t be ridiculous,” North scoffed, swatting at the thin air with his hand, in a large gesture. “Yetis bleed blue.” He shooing the yeti from one area of the counter, revealing the bowl of cookie dough that he had been working on. North easily pushed it out of the way, allowing room for another yeti to place down all the ingredients North had mentioned before. The clear bag of sugar revealed that the minute crystals added up to the size of Jack’s head, all the other large containers leaning up against it. “First we slice carrots and mix them all together.”  


“In any particular order?” Jack prompted, glancing nervously at the daunting bowl that North was pouring ingredients into.  


North simply shrugged in response, humming “Jingle Bells” loudly to himself. His large, meaty hands pounded at the bits in the bowl with a whisk, until everything was universally brown. “This will taste good,” North promised, pouring the batter into a series of cupcake tins. “In my tummy.”  


“You can tell a lot from that stomach,” Jack chuckled, glancing into the bowl.  


“No, that I don’t sense,” North shook his head, his eyes crinkling with laughter. “But it will taste good in my tummy.”  


“Now we wait for cupcakes to cook,” North instructed, pulling three more containers out of the gigantic fridge that stood to his left. “And make frosting!” He took off the lid to one of the containers, revealing the creamy, white substance inside. Pouring a large amount of the ingredient inside, he mixed in some milk, sugar, and butter. “Go on Jack, give it good mixing.”  


“If you say so,” Jack shrugged, taking the large whisk from North’s hands. He forced the wind to lift him high enough so that he was nearly on top of the bowl, but when the batter got too thick to manage, he ended up calling on the wind to just mix the frosting for him. “There, that should be good enough.”  


“Yes, now we just wait for cupcakes,” North agreed, watching the stove intently. Not even a minute had passed before the kitchen rang with the noise of a completely cooked oven. “Aha! Cupcakes done!” He pulled two christmas tree-oven mitts onto his hands, and pulled the dish of cupcakes out of the inferno. The orange cakes steamed, promising that they were far too hot to eat. Before North bothered giving instructions, Jack began to smear the frosting on top of the cupcakes, causing the sweets to seem like they had been topped with a fresh coat of snow.  


“Good job, Jack,” North praised, grinning. “Bunnymund will love.”  


* * *  


Doubt had a way of crawling into the mind, poisoning ideas until it causes the core to look rotten, no matter how good the original idea was. Doubt had a way of unhinging those brilliant thoughts. Jack was no different in terms of this particular plan, and the longer it took him to find Bunnymund, the more doubts crept in. This was it, Jack was going to deliver the cupcake, he was going to celebrate Bunny’s birthday--the first birthday in the history of the guardians. But what if he was wrong, what if Bunnymund didn’t like this idea, thought it was childish, or became mad that it was late? Jack couldn’t have delivered the present on time, that would have made the entire thing stressful. If they’d tried to celebrate on Easter, both the party and Bunny’s job wouldn’t have the time that would make the experiences worthwhile.  


Jack left his tenth town that the wind had thought Bunny was in. How inaccurate could it be? How fast could a bunny get around? It wasn’t like he had a job to do currently; Easter was over! This was the time for him to relax and enjoy. Maybe someone had told Bunny what was up, and now he was avoiding Jack...  


No, the largest fear that was really tugging at Jack was that the plan he had depended on celebrating Bunnymund’s birthday. Because that was the thing that could actually go wrong, could actually change things for the worse. But Jack just had to go through with it. It was time for Bunny to know how much he really meant to Jack.  


* * *  


“Hello, Frosty, wasn’t expecting to see you here.” Bunnymund grunted, bouncing over to the other guardian. Light was fading across the park, and it was deserted besides the two guardians. “Isn’t it a bit warm for your taste?”  


“It’s alright, cottontail,” Jack smiled, glad to have finally run into his furry friend. All day he had been searching for Bunny, across the entire globe, in fact. He hadn’t thought it would be such a hard time to find the guardian--after all, it was a few days after Easter, and he shouldn’t be too busy hopping around the globe. But now, when Jack was beside Bunny, he felt like the long search had been worth it. “I have to spend half the year with no freeze. Admittedly I’m usually farther north at this point.”  


“What would you be so hopeful about?” Bunny asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.  


“Who says I’m hopeful about anything?” Jack speculated, leaning up against his staff, so his face was inches from Bunnymund’s.  


“I do,” He responded. “I can smell hope, mate, and you’re full of it today.”  


“I think you should check your nose, then,” Jack laughed, pinching Bunnymund’s nose before Bunny managed to paw his hand away. “No, I was just thinking, since Easter’s your holiday, it’s the closest thing to what humans have for a birthday. So--” He lifted a small package from the middle pocket of his sweatshirt. The lumpy brown bundle landed in Bunnymund’s paws with a chill, but he couldn’t feel it through his thick fur.  


“For me?” Bunnymund questioned happily, sniffing the present.  


“Who else would it be for?”  


“Thank you,” Bunnymund murmured, beginning to scratch away at the wrapping. “I’ve never had anyone give me a birthday present before.” He scraped off the brown wrapping to reveal a half-squashed cupcake.  


“I frosted it,” Jack revealed. “And made it of course, but I frosted it all by myself.”  


“Thank you, Frosty,” Bunny repeated himself, staring at the cupcake with a wide smile on his face. Without another word, he took a few bites, the grin widening. “You did a good job with it, never had such a delicious cake.” Without another word, Bunnymund reached forward, and wrapped Jack into a large hug.  


At first, Jack stiffened, freezing up in surprise. But after a moment, he relaxed into the fluffy folds of Bunnymund.  
“Now,” Bunny continued, his grip tightening around his fellow guardian. “What is it that you’re so hopeful about? Because I’ve never smelled it so strongly on you.”  


“Well...” Jack started, unsure of what was actually exiting his mouth; it was all just a jumble inside and out. Global warming was easier to sort out then this combobulation, in Jack’s opinion. “Just, well... with this cupcake, I want to tell you how much you you matter to me. As in, if you want to, would you like to go out with me?”  


As they held their breaths in silence for a moment, Jack could feel Bunnymund’s grip growing even tighter around him--and yet, somehow, still staying gentle. “Yes,” he replied, his voice unusually soft and faint. “You’re stuck with me, Frosty.” As Jack was cuddled in Bunny’s arms, for the first time, he truly felt what it meant to feel warm.  


“You know, it’s rather amusing,” Bunny started, pulling away from Jack after a few heavenly minutes had departed. “Today I was trying to track something down for you, something from your past life. Your past is so important to you that, I thought that it would be nice to have a picture from when you were human.” He reached into his pack, and pulled out a wrinkled, old, portrait. But the two figures were still clearly visible, Jack’s familiar face beneath a tussle of brown hair, and a little girl clutching his hands. His sister, the one he had saved from certain death.  


“Thank you,” Jack breathed, staring at the picture. His past was important, but it wasn’t close to how significant every new moment was as Jack Frost, a guardian, side by side with Bunnymund.


End file.
